Alcohol, is it the final stumbling block?

[amwassil]

I rest my case.

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE COVERED ANYTHING DAY - December 16

[MTullius]

Even if your story looks different to mine, we have something in common: your intuition tells you this is a path you should explore. So it’s awesome that you’re giving it a try. That feeling inside - “What is my true and sober potential?” - will never go away, in my experience… it will just get stronger. What have you got to lose by answering the call?

Yes, you know I appreciate your response. I discovered the “party life” sometime in high school. My parents were both big drinkers and through college and into adulthood I lived for the party and the night out drinking. I had indications along the way that there were issues, but the truth is that drinking is not only not taboo, with the youth it’s a lifestyle. In my 30s I started having more issues with it, though in retrospect it was non-optimal the whole time. Bad hang overs, just doing it too much etc.

It was once I really focused on health that the little idea was born that I have to stop.

Funny to say though, I have gone through lots of posts and seen my own previous posts on some of these boards and I see myself and others making an argument that I told myself for a long time, that I can achieve all my goals by drinking “dry wine” or just doing it “once a week” and not eating bad foods while drunk etc. That being said, I spent over a year weighing myself and tracking food every day (March 2020- March 21) and I empirically observed the effects of drinking – 5-8 lbs bloat on the scale, eating bad foods while drunk (then doing “damage control” workouts), visible bloat, stalls and plateaus. I even didn’t drink for 2 weeks once and saw amazing changes-- then I went back and told myself that I was just an “occasional” drinker, chugging 3 bottles of wine per weekend with whiskey or whatever, even with the little voice that told me I was BSing myself!

You get to the point where you have to stop lying to yourself. Which is also why I plan on doing this until my fourth kid is born in April and seeing how I feel there and what it all means. Maybe I will just grow out of the party phase of my earlier life and drink far less in the remote future. Maybe I will get the body I always wanted and realize that I have to sacrifice drinking for it. Maybe I will just have a spiritual transformation like you said. I still love the party, but maybe I can discover some other way to be the party guy?

I already feel mentally more crisp all around after only 7 days at work. Let’s see what happens.

[MTullius]

I used to be a heavy smoker.

I quit smoking 9 years ago. Interestingly enough, the only situation where I crave a smoke at all years later is triggered by alcohol!

[islandlight]

I was a pretty good party person without alcohol or drugs. I hope you can be too!

[Fangs]

You get to the point where you have to stop lying to yourself

So agree. This is what got me off the dieting roller coaster nightmare eating plans and get into and STAY on a real healthy eating lifestyle change.

When we give up the excuses, the pretending to ourselves is truly when we have to face reality! It is hard to do for many but when we do it, alot of great change can happen and we grow as individuals instead of stunted in some misery hamster wheel loop of a life with issues we would like changed, but are too scared to face reality. well it kinda went down like that for me when I finally realized I had to give up the carby crap and couldn’t keep them in my life. reality sucks but once one faces it head on, one truly can tackle changing it to a better reality we want to live

[Fangs]

And I can handle my older demons (booze and cigarettes) after all this time. Although I was shocked to see one raise it’s ugly head.

and that is me on carbs LOL

Time on plan for any eating change plan is key for those cravings to just disappear on that more daily craving nonsense basis. It gets easier for sure and almost nil sometimes for big stretches but then, that one day, that one darn stress factor and BOOM…it slaps ya dead in the face.

I know that feeling for sure. But longer we change our ways the less likely we will go backward thank goodness But it can be that scary little hmmm wake up call when those old addictions hit back hard sometimes.

[Shinita]

I always find smoking very very stupid, smelly, unhealthy and often quite rude. Well except some classy methods, maybe and if someone isn’t a jerk trying to suffocate me and litter the streets, that’s a higher level. Still wrong, a homo sapiens should know better. I am extremely sensitive to cigarette smoke, I really feel I can’t breath even if I have a smoker anywhere near me and the wind isn’t my ally. And I like to keep my health as good as possible.

So I am a HUGE anti-smoking person along with my SO. We never tried it, his Mom smokes, not very much but still regularly and we hate it, both the horrible smoke smell and she harming herself (as if she hasn’t more than enough problem without that stupid thing. she didn’t smoke during her pregnancies but resumed it right after. well her second son surely hated the smoke as a baby, as a kid and as an adult too. and she could stop! why she resumed ).

Mom’s 2nd husband smoked too. Mom was less choosy than me. I never could live with a smoker, for various reasons, physical and the incompatibility between our thinking.

And again, I am poor so I couldn’t afford smoking anyway but again, I need my attitude as people manage to spend money on booze and cigarettes even if they can’t get enough proper food that way… That’s truly scary.

Yay and grats to everyone of you who managed to quit smoking! And the ones who never started, it probably wasn’t as easy for everyone than for me I can imagine pressure and circumstances.

[robintemplin]

Oh absolutely… one requires the other in my world. Hence, both are banished.

[robintemplin]

Sorry, but the alcoholic in me is compelled to add this. Drinking on a regular basis can be 100% fine… until it’s not. You can be enjoying it and handling life like a rock star. But if it is in your genes (or whatever, could just be karma)… it can suddenly start controlling you. It is incredibly hard to recognize when you cross the line into addiction.

Most of my friends are social drinkers or enjoy a drink after dinner, etc. I wish I could be one of them again. But it’s not possible. There is alcoholism in my family… I’m pretty sure that plays a part. I was aware of that and still became addicted. Darn it!

Just, you know, be careful.

[Fangs]

functioning addicts, millions out there right now point blank…til they don’t function any more, that day comes for alot.

good post. Carb addicts, alcohol addicts, and add a ton more into that list and we know total elimination must happen for true health change and ‘a cure’ and while ‘not a real cure’ we know as humans where we must hold if we want a real answer and ‘cure’ for us. Very very personal for sure!

[gingersmommy]

I used to be a heavy smoker.

I used to love to chain smoke when I went out, I really did. Quit in 2000 and it stuck - this time. I had “quit” several times before and would go back after many months or more of being off. For some reason, this time, I just have not craved a cigarette, although in the beginning, it was pretty tough. When I’d go out, I’d literally have to sit on my hands.

[gingersmommy]

I was a pretty good party person without alcohol or drugs.

How do you do that!?

[Janie]

I had my last rum and diet coke drink last night for my birthday and right now my goal is 90 days.

It helps me 3 ways - no alcohol to metabolize, kicking the evil diet coke habit and may help me lose the extra pounds I put on last year.

[Tetter3plr]

I’ve been falling down the boozy path pretty hard the past year. First a few drinks a week, then at least 1or 2 every night, then more and more, a shot here, a shot there, 5 shots later…horrible
I am currently 3 weeks sober as of today. I wish i could take credit for the sobriety but it was medically necessary. I suffered a horrific ruptured appendix, had surgery, ended up getting a abscess infection which required a drain being placed in my pelvic cavity. Im still in the hospital and will be discharged today with drain and all. But being free of alcohol has honestly changed my entire mind set. I think more clearly, my body feels more healthy (despite the medical issues going on of course), and right now the thought of putting something inside my body that will harm me frightens me. I am excited to see the changes in my body and in myself once I recover and remain alchohol free.
Good luck to everyone

[islandlight]

How to enjoy a party without substances? Dancing, talking, laughing, helping, people watching … Enjoying the ambience if it’s a nice place, like a beach at sunset.

[robintemplin]

Wow… that’s not something you would choose to go through, but what a great silver lining! You’ve already gone through the hard early days of abstinence. YAY! Hope the rest of your recovery goes as smoothly.

[OldDoug]

I gave up alcohol a while back after watching the Val Kilmer documentary (Prime Video) and another video by a medical student showing a cadaver head cross-sectioned and other parts of head & neck that showed clearly the damage to oral tissue from alcohol use ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q1RH8A3O3c )

My stepbrother’s biological father died at age 42 from this. He drank nothing but beer (a lot of beer). For the last ~6 years of his life, he had severe problems with the lining of his throat and the back of his mouth. Lesions, bleeding, the tissue literally seeming to ‘dissolve’ in some places. He had surgery several times to enable him to continue breathing and eating, along with the doctors telling him, “You are in a very bad way from the beer drinking, and you will die soon if you do not stop it.”

Never stopped; didn’t even slow down.

Has anyone else had the transformation they always wanted giving up drinking? It’s hard but I feel it might be the final frontier and evolution of my keto-carni-low carb lifestyle.

MT, for you personally I think the only way to know is what you’re doing - trying it. There’s a wide range for people. Some have a glass or two of wine, or a couple drinks of hard liquor - while eating ketogenically - and do quite well with it. For others, it’s a slippery slope, etc.

My gut feeling (no pun intended ) is that for something like the ‘stubborn fat that’s the last to go,’ it could well make a difference.

I too used to drink a lot. I’ve finally figured out that there is no upside. Same with sugar. One drink, or one cinnamon roll, and I won’t stop. Abstinence is best.

This too for many people. I dearly love drinking, but at age 50 I could feel bad effects. More at 60. Now I’m almost 63, and two nights ago had 2 big Gin & Tonics and 3 beers. A brother and his wife and daughter were here, first time for them and we had a great time.

But I could feel it yesterday morning. Not just “a little hungover,” but really sapped, sluggish, low-energy, generally crappy. Eating a bunch of carbs will do some of that to me, and so this was a double-whammy.

[Alecmcq]

I used to drink 3/4s of a bottle of wine every day (and I mean every day), and sometimes more, sometimes a lot more. I did this for 30 years.

In 2014, I went a week without drinking, just to make sure I was not dependent on it. I felt better, a lot better. So, I decided to extend things a bit, and extended the week to a month. Felt even better, felt in control, felt healthier, more vibrant, mornings were excellent, rather than a trudge.

The month then extended and extended. From that day in 2014, I still haven’t had a drink. Not one. And I feel sooooooooooo much better for it. It is now a point of pride for me. I don’t drink. Simple.

Now, it is not even a question. Whether going to the pub with others, or going for a meal with others, or at home, or any other circumstance, I don’t even consider drinking alcohol.

I have been tempted maybe 3 times in 7 years to have a drink (usually after some stress at work), and each time I considered my options, and decided it was not the best option. I think it is very likely I will never drink again. That might sound crazy to some (maybe most) people, but from the dry side it actually seems both logical and attractive.

I am not going to say never. Maybe sometime it will feel right to have a drink or 2. Maybe. Maybe not.

But here’s the thing. It is just not something I think about any more. It is no longer a conscious choice, it is a subconscious one. It makes life a lot simpler and cleaner.

I would encourage anyone to give the booze up for a short time and see how it feels. You might find that how you feel without alcohol becomes more addictive than the feeling with it.
Cheers
Alec

[Ketokwaka]

I find ketones more pleasing than alcohol. After 5 years I just this Xmas and also new year shared drinks to be social. I also relaxed the keto thing a bit, adding in fruit n honey. I also had some desserts on Xmas. So the alcohol (wine, scotch, vermouth, champagne) was one part of an overall shift in pattern. I’m now back into keto but plan on having a small nip of Scotch around once a week. The result has been that I’m now feeling more productive in my workouts than before the holiday period. Could just be that my metabolism needed a break too, but I don’t really know why it now feels better to exercise.

[robintemplin]

Oh, a nip? A NIP? Of SCOTCH? Surely you jest! Lucky guy. Scotch was my drug of choice. Oh how I love the taste. I still smell their drinks when my friends order scotch. Weird? Yes. But a nip? Impossible.